Around the Universe in 2000 Years
by MoonlightSalsa
Summary: It hasn't been quite 2000 years, but to Rosalina, it might as well have been as she traverses the galaxy in her Comet Observatory, searching for something.
1. Good Egg Galaxy

This tiny cottage on the tiny planet felt so close to the stars. But this wasn't Rosalina's cottage, and because of that she felt as if she had outstayed her welcome.

The cottage was occupied by an old woman named Chemoise, which Rosalina thought sounded like the name of an article of clothing.

Rosalina had stopped by to smell the flowers growing outside (something she hadn't done in a long time) and Chemoise had stuck out her head and offered her a cup of tea, which she accepted. The Lumas could wait outside, with the occasional starfall of star bits to keep them happy.

But that was a few hours ago, and Chemoise had launched into an interesting story about the time a man in a green hat became stuck on her roof, but Rosalina wasn't really listening. She felt awkward being in the scarcely furnished house, which felt like a relic from a century long gone. It was so old that there wasn't even electricity.

"I think it's time I go..." she said delicately.

Chemoise turned to glance out the window, at the starry sky beyond. "Oh, nonsense dear. There's plenty of time before bedtime, why don't you stay for dinner, even?"

Her words, along with the idea of this obviously impoverished woman sharing her rations with a total stranger, didn't sit well with Rosalina. She felt like an intruder enough as it was, though Chemoise didn't seem to mind her company. The sky hadn't changed a bit since she got here. Plus, her eye was itching and she wanted to put ointment on it.

She stood up. "You've been very kind, but I really must go..." The intruding feeling came back, stronger than ever. "Thank you very much for the tea..." She hid her face as she rushed outside without so much as a backwards glance.

She didn't feel like she could breathe again without restrictions until she was on the Comet Observatory and heading towards another planet, at which point she mentally scolded herself for ending her visit on such a sour note. That old lady must be so lonely, she thought to herself. But at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to spend another second in that cottage. She also quickly quelled the thought of going back to apologise. She couldn't do it. She just couldn't.

And she went to bed ashamed and sad for that very reason.


	2. Loopdeloop Galaxy

The Lumas were enjoying the stingray rides that the penguins had so graciously given them. They yipped and tittered as the stingray soared over the swells and landed, splashing little droplets of water everywhere.

Rosalina watched from the start as the Lumas and stingray headed further out of sight. She sighed.

The Emperor penguin, who was in charge, watched her curiously. She'd hardly spoken, except to ask permission for a ride on the Lumas's behalf. After that, not another word. She shook her head when they offered her a go, and since then she had resigned herself to watching her precious Lumas squeal in watery delight.

The elderly penguin told himself things like, maybe she was shy? Maybe she just didn't feel like making small talk? Either way, it kinda came off as a bit rude.

Rosalina didn't mean to be rude. She just couldn't think of anything worthwhile to say. She shut her eye and breathed the chlorinated air deeply. She was as stiff as a board, and felt like every little move she made was a crushingly awkward blow to everyone's opinion of her as a person.

Not as fun as riding on the back of a stingray.


	3. Bubble Breeze Galaxy

The sky was an ugly swirl of colour, like an artist's messy paint palette. Long, sharp rocks jutted out like teeth munching on the sky. An acrid aroma emanated from the poison swamp that made Rosalina's nose curl.

The Lumas had begged to ride on the bubble machines, but Rosalina had put her foot down the second she realised those bubbles would be floating over that thick purple sludge. The Lumas were just as adventurous as Mario, but they weren't as nimble or self-aware as he was.

Rosalina felt a bit cruel for thinking that, though it was true. And speaking of Mario, she admired his ability to sleep in any environment, anytime. She'd peeked at him through the telescope in the Terrace a few times to make sure he was okay. Safe to say, he'd found some interesting places to sleep, which Rosalina would never manage: the rocket ship in Space Junk, propped up against a shortbread wall in Sweet Sweet, even in Bowser's Lair, on the sandy hill near the fiery hurdles. And once on this grassy mound, the same one on which Rosalina now stood, in this poison swamp with its ugly sky and rocks and bubble machines.

This galaxy had such an innocent name. For a death-trap.


	4. Sweet Sweet Galaxy

Rosalina had a secret: she loved to eat. The three-meals-a-day regime just didn't cut it, she needed more sustenance. Most of the time, she would bake massive, round cookies and meringues, craft unique flavours of fudge and elegantly frosted cakes, use up rotting fruit in banana bread and apple crumble, whatever she craved, she got. She would smuggle them out of the kitchen and into her room and eat them late at night so she wouldn't have to share with the Lumas.

But when she felt too lazy to set foot in the kitchen, she would go on a quick trip to Sweet Sweet Galaxy, where she could also rid her shame of not sharing, as the Lumas could rustle up their own sugary snacks.

Rosalina had taken an immediate liking to shortbread the first time she came here, so this place was forever dear in her heart. She nibbled away at a large chunk ripped from the wall as she watched the Lumas saw their way through a slab of blue chocolate, which was beginning to melt a little under the sun. Later on, she decided, she would take them to the ice cream cakes.

Even though a place where cakes come frosted with ice cream was a place she could call heaven, she didn't want to live in a place where the sugar grains got between your toes and the furniture dribbled on hot days.


	5. Rolling Green Galaxy

The falsified richness of the grass stood in perfect contrast with the blue sky smattering with fluffy clouds. A windmill spun lazily in the distance. There were quite a few holes and pits around, but they were pretty par for the course, the Rolling Green golf course, that is.

This galaxy was actually a fairly popular getaway spot for the older generations to relax with their favourite sport. It was also where Mario had found a Power Star. He had balanced on top of the glass ball imprisioning the Star as he made his way through the perilous course. His success was nothing short of legendary, according to the local folk, and the extra tourists the event brought in didn't lie.

Rosalina sat alone on the tiny brick wall at the starting point, wondering how fun and terrifying it would be to jump off. That would be quite an event, wouldn't it?

But she really wasn't going to. All the publicity in the world wouldn't make up for leaving the Lumas behind.

She stood up and looked down at the sky that was up and also down, and endless abyss of azure. How many people had fallen off, she thought with a ghoulish fascination. Where did they end up? That was something that even she, as a space guardian, wasn't sure of.

Anything that goes down likely won't come back, she figured. It'll be like a black hole, it keeps those it takes.

She'll just have to be careful it didn't take her.


	6. Deep Dark Galaxy

The Lumas had convinced Rosalina to at least dip her toes in the water, so that was what she was doing. While they were off trying to play beach volleyball with a few Toads who had stayed here after Mario's journey, she was on the other side of the beach, standing on the shore in ankle-deep water, staring down at her too-pale feet. She wriggled her toes, sending sand particles everywhere.

Rosalina lifted her head towards the horizon, where muddy orange met the empty fullness of space. The squeals of Lumas and Toads alike filled the air. From somewhere far off, she could make out the mechanical whirring of the machines and bubble blasters.

Below them would be the ghost ship, lonely and rotting away since Mario's second battle with Kamella. Never again would it sail the great seas. In fact, no one seemed to remember that it was even there, floating silently with only the holes in the cave opening it up to the outside world.

Rosalina wondered what it would be like to be forgotten, to be left behind, to be well and truly alone. She sank to her knees, the water now reaching her waist. The gentle swishing drowned out the Toads and Lumas, like they were never there to begin with. The water sloshed around in her mind and she closed her eyes, shutting herself off from the outside world, just like the ghost ship. There she bobbed in her mind's eye, in a big ocean of lukewarm blackness, where no one could ever find her. It was too vast and too dark for one to cross, let alone find her.

She was like this very galaxy, in a way. It was just one of hundreds, thousands, millions out there. What's one worth to anyone?

"Mama, Mama!"

Rosalina opened her eyes and let the sunlight into her dark cave.

"Mama, can we go exploring? We'll be very careful, we promise!"

"Sure!" She paused, thinking of all the hidden, forgotten things she will never know, or maybe even forget about them herself. "Do you want to see a ghost ship? Mario went there once. He fought someone there..."


	7. Hightail Falls Galaxy

Hightail Falls are another popular tourist attraction made even more popular by Mario's escapades. Tourists were already spoiled for choice to begin with: you could go swimming at the bottom of the falls, explore the top of the falls, go for a peaceful walk alongside one of the many rivers that snake along the countryside, or visit the Lake of Infinity, from where all waterfalls begin.

Or, you could recreate the route Mario took, with several redesigns to make it safe for tourists, and no Yoshi.

The Lumas had insisted on it, wanting to relive Mario's moments of glory and triumph, wanting to be Mario, the hero with many tales and gifts of thanks to his name. It was practically their hobby at this point.

Rosalina couldn't help but smile at their starry-eyed lens through which they looked at the plumber. He had genuinely inspired people to be a hero, and if not, then the best version of themselves they could possibly be.

And if the Lumas took that philosophy with them wherever they go, then that would be wonderful.

But that in turn led the Lumas to want to constantly leave to go on grandiose adventures they clearly weren't capable of handling (if the amount of times they had to be rescued by Mario was any indication). They were willing to put themselves in danger for a fleeting moment of heroism.

Rosalina had tried to teach them things all their lives. Now, she was trying to instill them with her wisdom even more so: lessons about serenity, kindness, patience. Especially patience. Good things come to those who wait.

Patience is a virtue, and it really is.

The Lumas would need to be patient about when they would transform into a star or planet. And when they were ready, Rosalina would see them off with a smile. They would engulf themselves in a bright light and reemerge a changed being.

Someday, somewhere, a person will see the gorgeous surface of the planet, or the light cast by the star, and smile at its timeless beauty.

That would be a moment of glory and triumph, albeit subtle: making someone smile, giving them a moment of happiness, whether in a time of darkness or light.

Giving someone something to be happy about. No matter the occasion.

Rosalina would have to try harder to teach the Lumas that.


	8. Starshine Beach Galaxy

Sitting on the tiny wooden hut up on the grassy hill gave one an excellent view of the entire beach. It also provided some much-welcome shade from the blistering sun and the lack of any real walls meant that there was always a cooling breeze to dry you off.

Rosalina basked in it for a moment, her hair tied back in a ponytail save for the bit covering her face. She'd been swimming - properly swimming - with the Lumas by the castle. The experience fascinated her. The water was just the right temperature to cool you off without being overly cold, and it was so clear that Rosalina could see right to the bottom. It was like looking through a pane of glass. Nothing was obscured, not the spiny pufferfish, not the Lumas who dived adventurously to the sand below, not the castle entrance at the bottom, which had been used until the basin flooded with crystalline water. Looking down on it was like looking back in time, a time when there were many more permanent residents, before the whole galaxy turned into yet another luxurious resort for the adventurous, but not too adventurous.

Rosalina was not the biggest sports fan, but now that she knew swimming could be this fun, she regretted not coming here sooner.

She was done with swimming for the day, however, and she now sat in the tiny hut examining the seashells she and the Lumas had collected. They'd combed the beach for hours, picking up every flash of colour that lay half-buried in the sand. The seashells were arranged in several circular lines around her. It looked as if they'd picked the whole beach clean.

She admired the large conch in her hands. It was a milky white, with opaque streaks of pink and blue all through it. This was one shell that she had found and she'd fallen in love with it immediately.

As soon as she got back to the Comet Observatory, the conch was going straight on her shelf. That way, whenever she looked at it, she would forever be reminded of this day of peace, swimming and shell-collecting, accentuated by warm sand, sparkling water and a salty breeze.

A nice, relaxing day at the beach.


	9. Toy Time Galaxy

Trust.

The backbone of relationships: romantic, platonic, or otherwise.

Trust does not come easily but it can be destroyed in seconds.

Trust can be as powerful as love and hatred, yet it is rarely acknowledged as such.

Trust was another aspect of life that Rosalina had tried to teach the Lumas about. An important one, it was a big reason why they were even a family at all; the Lumas trusted Rosalina to look out for them and Rosalina trusted them to not make silly decisions (which they managed for the most part). Part of this lesson was to give them a taste of freedom every once in a while; let them explore, let them roam, don't fuss over them too much.

So that was why Rosalina was trusting a group of Lumas to play with the giant trains responsibly. Why she was trusting another group to visit the gizmo inhabitants without annoying them. Why she was trusting yet another group to try some cake - as well as the candy that decorated it- without ruining their appetites for dinner.

Rosalina sat back, chewing on the colourful coating of some hard candy, watching the Lumas sort out amongst themselves who should get what.

She couldn't be there supervising every single group. As much as she wanted to, she knew she had to back off a little bit, let them dip their metaphorical toes in the water of independence.

Of course, when they needed her help, she would rush over without hesitating. They were her precious little star babies, after all. She would not abandon them in a time of need.

And so it was that when several started crying over the unfair cake division process, Rosalina stepped in to settle the matter.

And when the gizmo people complained irritably about the Luma's squealing and noise-making, Rosalina told them to hush.

And when one nearly fell off the giant train, Rosalina swooped in and scooped him up.

It was still a lesson in progress, after all.


	10. Gusty Garden Galaxy

Gusty Garden Galaxy used to be a paradise, once upon a time.

The expertly crafted temples of marble and polished stone dominated the landscape, taking away the breaths of those who laid eyes upon them for the first time. They were surrounded by palatial gardens filled to the brim with the most fragrant and colourful flowers one could ever claim to encounter. There were shiny cobblestone paths, fountains inlaid with jewels, ponds of water so clean and clear that you could bend down and drink straight from them.

Various fruit trees were scattered about, their produce sweet and fresh. The grass was soft and a healthy shade of green. Apple, cherry and peach blossoms lined the courtyards, their delicate petals floating down to cover the ground below them in a beautiful rosy colour.

There was always a gentle breeze; not too warm, not too cold.

The inhabitants of this universe's answer to the Garden of Eden were the richest of the rich. They'd have to be to live in such a place. Blessed by the gods, people say.

They wore simplistic but fashionable clothes, woven from silky, smooth materials and accentuated with brightly-colored jewellery. They ate the finest foods with literal silver spoons and drank the finest wine from golden goblets. They frequently held socials with those from the neighboring temples. Together, they danced the night away under the beautiful light of the stars.

It was, truly, a blessed life.

Until the winds came.

Rosalina stood on a chunk of land that used to be part of a much larger chunk, one big enough to house an entire temple and its garden. Everywhere, there were remaining bits and pieces from the glory days. The marble steps, once shiny, now dull with years gone by. The patches of sporadic flowers, their perfume still strong enough to fill the air. The unsavory new inhabitants, a far cry from the rich that had once made their home here. Piranha plants, bugs, and goodness knows what else.

It was an interesting, if not sad, sight to see. It was a magnificent place that fell of extremely hard times. Its polished and tidy beauty could not be saved. Instead, a new beauty, rugged and unorganized, took its place.

Would something like this happen to the Comet Observatory if she fell on hard times? Would vines tangle their way through her bookcases? Would flowers sprout in the Fountain? Would all manner of creepy-crawlies make their home in her bedroom?

Rosalina shivered at the thought of her home falling into such drastic disrepair. How horrible it would be to see that happen!

It was hard to believe that these people saw that reality first-hand, and that there was nothing she could do about it.

"Mama! Mama!"

A Luma rushed up to her, holding something that sparkled in the light whenever he moved. The rest of the Lumas were following suit, chattering excitedly amongst themselves.

"Mama! We were digging around and we found this! Look!" He thrust it into Rosalina's face.

Rosalina took the object and inspected it. There were a few flecks of dirt which she carefully wiped away. The object was small, and nestled snugly in her palm. It was green, but the exact shade depended on where the light was shining onto it.

A jewel! An emerald, to be more exact.

"What a lucky find!" Rosalina told the Lumas. "These can be quite rare. Where did you find it?"

The Lumas excitedly dragged her to another spot and pointed at several small holes in the earth.

"Can we try and find more? Please?"

Rosalina laughed lightly. "Of course! Just try not to make a mess."

As the Lumas resumed their digging, Rosalina looked down at the emerald, still firmly in her grasp.

It seems like beauty can still be recovered from destruction, after all.


	11. Cosmic Cove Galaxy

**The music in this galaxy makes me want to ascend to a higher plane of existence.**

* * *

If a galaxy could ever be described as "relaxing", then the Cosmic Cove Galaxy is it.

Unsurprisingly, several businesspeople had built resorts on the more densely populated planets for rich citizens to unwind at, but what was surprising was how few people actually knew about this galaxy. Mostly, the wealthy simply congregated at Beach Bowl, Starshine Beach, or even Hightail Falls for the more adventurous. Cosmic Cove was, in essence, a hidden gem. An underrated relaxation spot.

And of those who did know of this place, they only stuck to the resorts. They never went out and explored the true Cosmic Cove. The hundreds of planets with their own dinky little beaches and stunning views went unnoticed by them.

They did not go unnoticed by Rosalina.

She lay on her back, floating in the dark blue water some distance away from the tiny beach. The sand on that beach was more powdery than anything and covered in rings of colourful seashells. The water was icy, but not unbearably so, not to the point where you couldn't swim in it. In fact, the iciness made it more relaxing.

And right up above her was an uninterrupted canvas of whites and pinks and blues and purples with a sprinkling of lights that took up the whole sky in one glorious portrait.

But the best thing about this place was the silence.

Rosalina had never been big on silence before, but here, it made the experience even better.

The Lumas were playing with the planet's sparse penguin population, but they were all the way up the other end of the water, so far away that one could only hear their squeals if they focused and listened extremely closely.

Other than them, there was not another soul for miles.

While Rosalina wasn't necessarily alone, per se, she was alone enough to enjoy herself and relax, unwind, simply let her mind wander, think...

She thought about floating through space by herself.

She thought about sinking to the depths of the water, and touching the powdery sand at the bottom.

She thought about rising out of the water as if lifted by an invisible cable, into the stars above.

Then her stomach rumbles, quite loudly, and she was forced to think about what to make for dinner that night.


End file.
